


The Matsuoka Muscle Appreciation Club

by mizukiakabayashis (kraykei)



Category: Free!
Genre: Established Relationship, M/M, Reunion, Rinharu Week
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-21
Updated: 2014-11-21
Packaged: 2018-02-26 13:08:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,552
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2653109
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kraykei/pseuds/mizukiakabayashis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Something's different about Haru, and Rin sure notices.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Matsuoka Muscle Appreciation Club

**Author's Note:**

> The initial idea for this fic was inspired by [this text post](http://magsuoka.tumblr.com/post/101607274676/i-keep-thinking-about-rin-visiting-haru-for-the), but after completing the wip I realized it fit with day three of rinharu week, "reunion" so decided to post this now. I'm mizukiakabyashis on tumblr if you wanna chat. Enjoy!
> 
> (special thanks to my friend [Hannah](http://beardogs.tumblr.com/) for proofreading/screaming enthusiastically)

Despite being attracted to men, Rin had never understood his younger sister’s preoccupation with muscles.  He worked hard for his own—and maybe _occasionally_ checked himself out in the mirror—but for him, muscles primarily served a functional purpose: helping him get strong enough to kick everyone’s ass at the Olympics someday.  And, okay, he could also appreciate their aesthetic appeal, but a well-toned body was nothing worth drooling over.

Honestly, Rin knew he had no right to judge Gou for her tastes.  He didn’t spend extensive time admiring muscles, but only because he had _other_ things he spent extensive time admiring: swimming that never failed to excite him, a simultaneously endearing and infuriating personality some would call “unapproachable”, and—oh, eyes, eyes were important.  _Way_ more important than muscles.  Blue eyes, maybe, blue like the ocean, and clear as water—

Okay, so it was just Haru.

His complete focus on Haru probably contributed to his muscle indifference.  His boyfriend’s body was nice, but—well.  He wasn’t exactly built like Sosuke.  And that didn’t matter.

It was just Rin’s luck that he’d finally started dating his crush—the moment he’d been anticipating since the sixth grade—shortly before they moved to _different hemispheres_.  But even the inconvenience of their new relationship hadn’t dampened Rin’s perpetual giddiness.  After repeated prodding and some minor technological assistance from Makoto, Haru had signed up for Skype.  Even the mundane chatter of their video calls was _the best thing ever_ , because he was talking to _Haru_ , who he was _dating_.  Rin tried not to gaze too adoringly into his webcam, but it was a futile effort.  Once, one of his teammates had dropped by during a call, taken one look at his face, and asked _Is that your girlfriend?_  

But judging by Haru’s increased frequency of small smiles, he didn’t mind Rin’s embarrassingly obvious affection.  Their video calls became a regular event, the most anticipated part of Rin’s day and much-needed after grueling training.  As months passed, Rin’s giddiness settled into an unfamiliar sense of contentment.  He was _happy_ , but softly, no longer vibrating with enthusiasm every time he saw Haru’s slightly-grainy face on his laptop screen.

Until, of course, Rin returned home for a visit, and everything got out of control again.

The flight was unbearable.  Haru had (unhelpfully) suggested he “just sleep”, but the overwhelming excitement made even sitting still impossible.  Rin spent the entire time fidgeting and flipping through a cheap mystery novel he’d picked up at the airport to occupy his mind.  His eyes skimmed the words, but his brain couldn’t process anything beyond his upcoming reunion.  He put the book down and stared out the window for hours in agonizing anticipation.

When the plane finally landed, Rin pushed past the other over-tired passengers in a hurry to reach the designated meeting spot.  He expected Haru to be late like usual, so he was unprepared to find his boyfriend already waiting for him.  For a few seconds, all Rin could do was stare, but the overwhelming need for closeness rapidly won over.  Rin suppressed the urge kiss him and settled for a tight hug instead.  Haru made a soft sound of surprise, but returned the embrace.  Rin relaxed for the first time since he’d boarded the plane.  After months of nothing but Skype calls, getting to see and _touch_ Haru was long overdue.

“You’re early,” he said.  Of all the things he could have said upon their reunion, Rin cursed himself for picking the most inane.

Haru didn’t mind, judging by the way he hadn’t let go.  “Yeah.”  Rin didn’t have to see his face to know he was smiling in that small, subtle way Rin had grown incredibly fond of.  He was so caught up in admiring the physical _realness_ of Haru that it took him a few minutes of their inappropriately-long hug to notice something was…different.

Haru’s body had never been _soft_ , but the torso pressed against his own felt more…firm than he remembered.  The arms wrapped around him seemed different, too.  Bigger, maybe. Stronger.

Holy shit.  Had Haru been _working out_?  He tried to imagine Haru’s already-fit body with increased muscle mass, and his throat went dry.  It was…

“What’s wrong?”  The real (and clothed) Haru in front of him asked, thankfully jolting Rin back to reality before things escalated.

“Nothing’s wrong.” 

“You got all tense.” 

_Damn_ it, he really had to work on his transparency issue.  “Don’t worry about it.”  Knowing that excuse wouldn’t be enough, he leaned in and gave his boyfriend a quick kiss on the cheek before reluctantly pulling away from his new and improved body.  “Now, I think you promised me a race.”

Haru’s damn beautiful eyes almost _sparkled_.  “Only if you’re ready to lose.”

 

\----

 

The second Haru whipped off his clothes, Rin knew he was in _trouble_.  Like, serious trouble—because Haru _had_ been working out.  And it showed.

Having been surrounded by other half-naked individuals on a regular basis for over a decade of swimming, Rin seldom found himself captivated by anyone in a swimsuit, even Haru.  But now, he couldn’t stop _fucking staring_.

He wasn’t that much bigger—the transition wasn’t dramatic, but it was noticeable.  And, damn, Rin was noticing.  Every part of Haru’s body was more sculpted and well-defined than it had been before: arms, abs, legs…

“Are we going to race?”

His attraction to Haru wasn’t exactly a secret anymore, but being caught ogling was still embarrassing.  But how could he help it?  Haru looked _good_.  He’d always looked good, of course, but everything Rin had always loved was still there, just…increased.  With _muscles_.  Rin wanted to touch them with an embarrassing urgency.  They’d been on opposite sides of the world for _months_ , god damn it, he _deserved_ some cuddling pressed up against those newly-sculpted abs.  Or kissing.  Or—

“Rin?”

God _damn_ it.  He’d done it again.

Hoping to regain focus, he snapped his goggle strap against his head as if the sting could knock all thoughts of Haru’s glorious new muscles from his brain.  “Yeah, I’m ready.  Let’s go.”

The second he hit the water, Rin felt the familiar competitive rush he loved so much.  Racing Haru only provided an extra buzz of adrenaline—even now, after dating for several months, their rivalry hadn’t diminished. Rather than dragging him down, Rin’s love for Haru strengthened him, giving him that extra push he needed.

Except not today.

They remained evenly matched for most of the race, but Haru pulled ahead at the end.  Rin knew he had to catch up, but couldn’t achieve that final push, and it was over before he could close the gap.  He’d lost.  Over _muscles_.

Breathing hard, he glanced over into the next lane for a view of those wonderful muscles—which looked even better dripping wet, incidentally.  Objectively, it was ridiculous.  He saw guys farmore built every day at practice, but he never gave them so much as a second glance. Everyone paled in comparison to Haruka Nanase.

…And he was staring again.

“What happened to ‘kicking my ass’?” Haru asked in exactly the same way he’d ask what time it was, but Rin knewthe bastard was gloating inside.

“I wasn’t on top of my game.” _Because of your stupid sexy muscles,_ Rin didn’t add.  “I’ll kick your ass next time.”

“We’ll see.”  Before Rin could issue another challenge, Haru kept going.  “I guess all my training paid off after all.”

The statement could have been innocent, but Rin didn’t miss the small smirk that quirked on Haru’s lips, or the way his blue eyes shone with suppressed laughter.  What the hell was so funny about— 

Fuck, he _knew_. 

As if he could read his mind, Haru said, “You’re as obvious as your sister.”

Rin fought desperately to play it cool despite the blush rising to his cheeks.  Haru obviously wanted to embarrass him, and even though it worked, he couldn’t just let him _win_ like that.  He leaned across the divider and into Haru’s lane and flashed his most obnoxious grin.  “What can I say? You look good.”  He didn’t pull away before asking, “How about a rematch?”

“I already won.” 

“I want to race again anyway.  I was unfairly distracted.”  He’d already invaded Haru’s space so completely their mouths nearly touched—closing the gap and kissing Haru was easy.  The hard part was making himself pull away, which he did, eventually.  “We’re even now, right?”

He got the desired reaction when Haru’s cheeks reddened slightly with surprise. But Rin had underestimated his unwillingness to be outdone, and before he knew it, they were kissing again, Haru tugging him closer with one of those strong arms.

All too soon, it was over.  “Now we’re even,” Haru said simply, pulling away and climbing out of the pool.  Rin watched him go, utterly captivated by the flex of his muscles as he hoisted himself out of the water.  He would lose the rematch too, and they both knew it. 

Admiring Haru’s triceps out of the corner of his eye as they dove into the water for the second time, Rin thought _this_ loss was one he could live with, provided he got prolonged exposure to this new body outside of the pool.

Maybe Gou’s preoccupation ran in the family after all.

 


End file.
